Leaks threaten homes at Twin Waters

Bill HoffmanWhether taking on developers hell-bent on destroying the Coast’s natural appeal or a Prime Minister indifferent to the plight of the poor, Bill Hoffman has never been one to mince his words. Bill’s been a journalist for 32 years, 29 of those on the Coast. Love him or hate him, he'll get you blogging.

Angry property owners who paid more than a million dollars each for a stake in Lend Lease’s signature Water Gallery development at Twin Waters want to know why their home units leak every time it rains.

They have recorded at least 80 instances of water incursion and at least one owner still has tarpaulins covering the roof of his $1 million- plus over-the-water unit.

Peter Sanday, who moved into No.22 at Water Gallery after purchasing off the plan in 2004, is so upset he has set up a website – www.lendleasedefects.com – to record a litany of problems with the Water Gallery complex and the View Point, Visage and Novotel Twin Waters developments.

He has spent 18 months trying to rectify faults in the roof, having seen water pour out of internal wall cavities and light fittings; destroying the ceiling and forcing him and partner Lynne Stephens to abandon their home during repairs.

The rectification work failed and Lynne has been off work with damaged wrist ligaments and a plastered arm after slipping on a new leak, which sent water pouring out of an internal wall cavity, down a set of timber shutters and on to the floor.

Body corporate secretary/chairman Gordon Duff said attempts to have problems – with the roof, tile grouting in bathrooms and cracks in driveways – addressed had been drawn out and frustrating.

“Everyone can see the roof is a mess,’’ he said. “They may need to put more fall on it.’’

After getting very little positive response from Lend Lease, the body corporate had established good dialogue with project director Warren Thomson and met on Friday to discuss a list of problems.

“Since Peter’s website went up they have shown a lot more interest,’’ Mr Duff said.

Owners say Lend Lease appears to lack a coherent faults-resolution process and they want a prioritised schedule of remedial work.

Mr Sanday was so appalled at his treatment and the shoddy nature of repair work, he lodged complaints against the company and the builder, Evans Harch, with the Queensland Buildings Services Authority.

Mr Thomson acknowledged the problems but said they were normal with any development. He said he was disappointed with the delays in repairing Mr Sanday’s apartment

“Some of the problems encountered in this instance have been unique, causing delays in the timeframe,’’ he said.

The company had not identified a common design or construction flaw in the buildings.

“Lend Lease has been coordinating the rectification process with the builder,” he said.

“Following a number of attempts and continued problems, with the agreement of the owner, we have engaged a specialist roofing engineer who is independent from the project and the builder.

“This specialist has inspected and provided a technical report on the best way to rectify the leak.

“This roofing contractor has now been appointed and the works will be carried out under the supervision of the specialist roofing engineer.”

Mr Thomson said that in delivering new apartments, inspections were conducted with the builders and the owners. During the inspection for Unit 22, a problem was not identified by the building certifier, the builder, the owner or Lend Lease, and the leak became apparent only after the owners moved in.